Need Help With Finding A Job!

Hi guys,I need some help in finding a new job in this very 'hot' market.

I got fired from my last gig because I, "Issued updates to servers without approval from management." My boss and I had discussed that the patching that I'd be doing would be an ongoing process done every month on the 3rd weekend of every month. He never told me what servers to not touch and I make sure nothing went bad by taking snapshots in HyperV so I could revert if something went bad. He was on vacation between 10/20 - 10/28 and I had did this on 10/22. He didn't bring it to my attention until after he returned. I was brought into HR's office at the end of my shift at 3PM on 11/2 and was told it would be my last day because I "Had patched mission-critical servers." I didn't say a word, wasn't given anything to sign. I cleaned out my desk and was escorted out.

This is odd b/c my boss told me that I was "A diamond in the rough." He wanted me to be the face of IT and do everything for our department. I never got upset with my coworkers and fixed practically every issue without a fuss. Also, it was very rare for me to go him for help. It was mostly, "Where is this, where is that?" And then a complete 180 toward me, and then started to nitpick everything I did after the 6th month I was there. Now, I am following the advice of my lawyer and fighting for unemployment.

I've already appealed it, and based on what my coworkers have said, the HR manager and supervisor are beside themselves about me appealing it. I believe it's because they have no evidence to present to the appeal hearing and it will be my word against theirs.Anyway, I've gotten a couple interviews and so far it's lead nowhere. I thought this would be a blessing in disguise but so far I'm feeling depressed and frustrated. Mostly, because I have nothing else to do except study. I lend my car to my mother so she can go to work and I use it when I need it. But, she's gone most of the day doing two jobs.

I've managed to get two more certs to my name; Project + and Sec +. I now have four certs in total; A +, Network +, Project +, Security +.I though it would be easier to find a job, but it seems to me employers want someone with 5-10 years of experience in practically everything. I've been applying to Network Admin, Network Engineer, System Admin, System Engineer gigs with no luck so far in actually getting a job.

Anything you guys can do to help would be appreciated.

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Comments

si20

That's the most ridiculous reason for a sacking i've ever heard. Ok, sure, wait until you get approval for updates etc I can understand them telling you to not be too hasty, but it sounds like they were looking for a reason to let go. Imagine if the company was hacked because you DIDN'T install the patch on a mission critical system? You should be glad to be rid of that lot...

That being said, i've been unemployed since August and can't get anything. I've got a bunch of certs, good work experience etc But i've not had any luck. I'll add you on Linkedin and hope you get something soon.

scaredoftests

That is unreal! Where do you live? I certainly hope you win your case. Did anything happen to the servers? You did snaphots, so they could have easily been rolled back.

alias454

I would agree that the reason sounds lame. IMHO it should have only warranted a talking to and only to let you know that in the future the expectation is to get approval before patching system x and system y. Maybe there is more to the story but it doesn't matter, you are where you are and the only thing you can do is keep trying. Don't give up because something will turn up.

This "hot" IT market is only hot if you are in a role with hard to find skills and even then you have to work for what you get. Not to mention this is a bad time of year for landing an interiew since the decision makers are not around as much during the holiday season.

Good luck to you.

CptFalcon

alias454 wrote: »

@CptFalcon, you know you can directly correlate your linkedin name with the resume you posted. Just saying .

I would agree that the reason sounds lame. IMHO it should have only warranted a talking to and only to let you know that in the future the expectation is to get approval before patching system x and system y. Maybe there is more to the story but it doesn't matter, you are where you are and the only thing you can do is keep trying. Don't give up because something will turn up.

This "hot" IT market is only hot if you are in a role with hard to find skills and even then you have to work for what you get.

Good luck to you.

Yeah, I know I have nothing to hide anyway. Was looking for any advice you guys have.

I was expecting a write up at the most, not a full on firing. Never had any performance or attendance issues.

My coworkers that I've been talking to have speculated that he became extremely jealous since I wouldn't go to him for any help. Most of the time, it would be where is this, where is that... He wanted me to become the public face of the company and speaking to two of the managers and other coworkers on a day to day basis, they all told me that they liked dealing with me more than with my manager. I think it backfired on him b/c everyone was going to me and not him. I wish that their was more to the story, but it is what it is.

xxxkaliboyxxx

Maybe someone can chime in, but I would put your certs and skills towards the bottom and have your experience one of the first things that a hiring manager and HR would see.

scaredoftests

Where do you live? I see on your resume that you have had contract jobs, that did not last long. Some companies understand that, some do not and feel that you job hop and won't be around long. I have been through that, so I am glad that you did put contract on the positions. I live in the DC metro area, so there are companies that understand. Yes, put your certs and skills at the end of your resume.

volfkhat

Cheer up Bud!
Firings build Character [especially the undeserved ones:]

We've all been there. Keep it moving.

Decide what you want to do next. Based on skimming your resume... i see two easy options:
Server Guy,
or
Network Guy.

Decide what you "want" to do.
Then go for the certification (CCNA, or MCSA, etc)

kiki162

That sucks man! Unfortunately as an admin, you are going to deal with "stupid" people who don't know what they are doing and rely on ppl like you to fix issues.

Here's where I think the issue could be with patching a "mission-critical" server. Many times companies have applications running that support certain features. There are some custom apps out there that support things up to a certain point, for example Java, Internet Explorer, etc. For example, you could have a website application running an older version of Java, and obviously any admin would want to patch that. But upgrading that system to anything higher than what it can support will break the application. Another important note, always test patches on non-production systems before deploying them into a production environment. I would encourage you to read up on compliance frameworks such as NIST CSF, NIS 800-53, ISO 27002, etc.

For your resume, you need to clean up the "fluff" on there. Under your tech skills, you have a lot of hardware on there, and it doesn't reflect in your work experience at all. All of the bullet points in your job experience led me to ask more questions, and some statements don't make sense. For example....what do you mean by "upgraded computer security protocols through group policy." You need to be prepared to explain what you did in your last jobs, and convey that clearly in your resume. Remember that a lot of the stuff your a doing is because you are new, and this is all a learning process.

kiki162

I'm going to critique your resume here a bit so bare with me.

• Administer the company’s network environment with security audits, upgrades, maintenance and data integrity.

What do you mean by "security audits", maybe there's a better word to use here? Normally security audits are "compliance audits" in some cases. You could say that you performed "routine" maintenance of network devices and systems to ensure data integrity (Or something along those lines)

• Install and maintain data communications hardware and software as well as performing equipment repairs and troubleshooting network and systems issues.

So for this one, you are almost saying the same thing as the bullet point above.

• Assemble, build, and configure network and associated services

Same as above, did you do something specific here, your saying the same thing in the first 3 statements.

• Performed various projects, most notable; Building and configuring remote administration platform for endpoint security suite, upgraded computer security protocols through group policy.

Ok, so you installed a "remote admin" software to manage your hosts...did the suite have anything special or additional that you setup on the network?

The "upgraded computer security protocols through group policy" makes zero sense here. Get specific on what you did for GPO's, did you create them, did you do something to enhance the security policy?

• Improved sales operations by upgrading the sales CRM software to Salesforce from home grown and upgraded the shipping platform from Starship to UPS Shipping Manager.

Unless you have hard facts here, you only did a software upgrade and nothing more. I'd take this out. If you migrated a system from one to another, and the new system cost less than the old one, then you could use that specifically here.

• Responsible for patching systems using SCCM.

So WSUS is normally integrated into SCCM for patching, you have to configure SCCM to point to a WSUS server either locally, or on another system. So I've shortened your statement here. The fact that your patching systems monthly sounds like bad to me, so I'd leave that one out. You should also add SCCM into your skills section.

mzx380

Feel for you man; I also went through a jobless bought last year. Just keep upskilling and don't give up so you can look back at this later and see that you were better off.

mbarrett

Regarding your firing - there must be underlying issues in the that don't directly involve you, such as funding or politics, etc. Based on what you've said, that's a pretty crazy reason for letting someone go - maybe they had some larger agenda and they were just looking for an excuse to get rid of you (or someone else.) If they were nitpicking everything, sounds like there was some issue going on. If their solution to a simple miscommunication is to just terminate the employee, they aren't worth the time of day. Too bad for you that you put in the effort to work there for however long you were there, now it's time to get something better! I wouldn't worry about this because most rational managers would value the employee more & take the time to work on communication/training, maybe you (and your manager) take a few lumps and everybody moves on.

CptFalcon

scaredoftests wrote: »

Where do you live? I see on your resume that you have had contract jobs, that did not last long. Some companies understand that, some do not and feel that you job hop and won't be around long. I have been through that, so I am glad that you did put contract on the positions. I live in the DC metro area, so there are companies that understand. Yes, put your certs and skills at the end of your resume.

I live close to Chicago IL. I've had contract jobs that been okay for the most part, not great. I'm still getting phone calls for interviews thank goodness, and I've been saying that I was laid off due to outsourcing. Gotta paint a picture that wasn't my fault. Plus, here in IL, references can only say what dates I worked, what my title was and that's it.

scaredoftests

Or just say the contract ended.

anhtran35

DC/VA is always hiring for GOVT contracts. Are you willing to relocate?

scaredoftests

anhtran35 wrote: »

DC/VA is always hiring for GOVT contracts. Are you willing to relocate?

Agree with that.

volfkhat

scaredoftests wrote: »

Or just say the contract ended.

yep.
a 6-month contract :]

DatabaseHead

Sorry to hear about your recent situation that is really unfortunate.

Someone had to fall on the sword and you were appointed for this honorable act.

One thing I noticed on your resume is all your job efforts are REALLY short. I see you call them out with contractor, but for some companies that won't make a difference. In fact a few months ago on public radio they had a VP of HR from (GE) I believe could of be another, but basically said if your last position wasn't for at least 2 - 3 years you were omitted from the system immediately. So you may be challenged with some of that as well.

Like others have mentioned, I would most certainly consider getting the CCNA or MCSE (depending what direction you want to go). This could help pull you through into an interview. The CompTIA's never really seem to get people very far in regards to the higher level positions, such as SA or NA.

Good luck!

scaredoftests

DatabaseHead wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your recent situation that is really unfortunate.

Someone had to fall on the sword and you were appointed for this honorable act.

One thing I noticed on your resume is all your job efforts are REALLY short. I see you call them out with contractor, but for some companies that won't make a difference. In fact a few months ago on public radio they had a VP of HR from (GE) I believe could of be another, but basically said if your last position wasn't for at least 2 - 3 years you were omitted from the system immediately. So you may be challenged with some of that as well.

Like others have mentioned, I would most certainly consider getting the CCNA or MCSE (depending what direction you want to go). This could help pull you through into an interview. The CompTIA's never really seem to get people very far in regards to the higher level positions, such as SA or NA.

Good luck!

However, @Databasehead, you live in an area like the DC Metro area. Contracts have been known to be changed or modified. Hence, it could be a 6 month contract. I have run into that issue the last 2 jobs I had. Now, I have been in a position close to 2 years.

revbox

Did you guys have a change management policy? If you did, this would be evidence at your appeals hearing. Even though my workplace has an understood "maintenance window" on Wednesday nights and Saturday/Sunday nights, we still have to file change requests for any type of server maintenance that would take it offline. Change requests go through our change control board in which any impacted business owners must approve along with the technology manager and change manager. These are fully documented with exactly what work is to be performed plus roll back plans.

Sounds like your manager decided to scapegoat. A server went offline that pissed off a client who griped to manager for their line of business who probably then escalated to the upper line of management who then went to your manager. Rather than admit to giving you verbal permission, it was easier to scapegoat you (if you have access to any e-mail correspondence that you had any sort of permission, that would be handy also). In an environment with established change controls and a process, I'd say then termination would probably be deserved, but if there was no official policy and you guys just kind of YOLO'ed patching, then this is pretty dirty. In hindsight, you know what to look for in the future as far as asking about change documentation and approvals along with putting everything in writing for CYA purposes. Good luck with your job hunt.

DatabaseHead

scaredoftests wrote: »

However, @Databasehead, you live in an area like the DC Metro area. Contracts have been known to be changed or modified. Hence, it could be a 6 month contract. I have run into that issue the last 2 jobs I had. Now, I have been in a position close to 2 years.

@SoT

Completely agree that contracts can end for both sides, my reply to that is:

1. The OP has never held a job for over a year according to their resume. This will surely hurt the OP in finding another position, that is just a fact. Even if they were all short termed efforts by design.
2. SOME companies don't care the rhyme or reason, if you can't prove you are capable of lasting years in a position or multiple positions you are deemed too big of a risk to hire for SOME companies. They would rather pass and go with a candidate who has experience that is contiguous and blocked together.

I am not trying to discourage the OP, I am merely trying to rationalize why they MIGHT be having a hard time finding a new job.

I went through this about 5 years ago. I had a 3 month contract (by design) and a 8 month contract and it killed me for ~2 years. I finally repaired my reputation by joining on a start up for ~ 14 months, they went under and I hopped onto a fortune 20.

Best of luck to the OP.

alias454

It also might be a good idea to group jobs by employment agency. Say you worked three of those jobs through teksystems and a couple of others through Robert Half. In that way you can show a long term relationship with a company showing they are willing to reassign you to other companies.

CptFalcon

revbox wrote: »

Did you guys have a change management policy? If you did, this would be evidence at your appeals hearing. Even though my workplace has an understood "maintenance window" on Wednesday nights and Saturday/Sunday nights, we still have to file change requests for any type of server maintenance that would take it offline. Change requests go through our change control board in which any impacted business owners must approve along with the technology manager and change manager. These are fully documented with exactly what work is to be performed plus roll back plans.

Sounds like your manager decided to scapegoat. A server went offline that pissed off a client who griped to manager for their line of business who probably then escalated to the upper line of management who then went to your manager. Rather than admit to giving you verbal permission, it was easier to scapegoat you (if you have access to any e-mail correspondence that you had any sort of permission, that would be handy also). In an environment with established change controls and a process, I'd say then termination would probably be deserved, but if there was no official policy and you guys just kind of YOLO'ed patching, then this is pretty dirty. In hindsight, you know what to look for in the future as far as asking about change documentation and approvals along with putting everything in writing for CYA purposes. Good luck with your job hunt.

There was no change management put in place for the computer systems. I was looking into implementing something once I got my Project + cert, but it is now all for naught.

I can complain all I want, I'm reduced to speculate at this point. I'll never get an answer and that doesn't matter. I'm saying to prospective employers that I was laid off due to outsourcing. I have 3 face to face interview, one phone interview tomorrow, and one face to face on Monday.

Hopefully, I'll get a job soon.

Dojiscalper

Same basic thing happened to my wife at her job a few years back. One week she's at a corp meeting receiving an award for how awesome she is, the next they throw her out for missing a simple mistake on a form that happens in her industry.

It turned out to be good for us though, she was able to fight for unemployment and it was during the recession so she was able to spend nearly two years off just after our second daughter was born.

Don't let it get you to depressed, for all the trouble companies to through to hire "the right fit" they certainly don't have much loyalty to us employees
these days. Its not personal, its just their business.

mdhisapro

Wouldn't the employer have to prove 'gross misconduct' to deny your unemployment benefits? Sounds like you shouldn't have any worry about that happening. Never had to go through that personally myself (knock on wood) unless it differs in your area.

minor errors in judgment or negligence are not typically considered gross misconduct, but rather as poor performance.

Moldygr33nb3an

DatabaseHead wrote: »

@SoT

Completely agree that contracts can end for both sides, my reply to that is:

1. The OP has never held a job for over a year according to their resume. This will surely hurt the OP in finding another position, that is just a fact. Even if they were all short termed efforts by design.
2. SOME companies don't care the rhyme or reason, if you can't prove you are capable of lasting years in a position or multiple positions you are deemed too big of a risk to hire for SOME companies. They would rather pass and go with a candidate who has experience that is contiguous and blocked together.

I am not trying to discourage the OP, I am merely trying to rationalize why they MIGHT be having a hard time finding a new job.

I went through this about 5 years ago. I had a 3 month contract (by design) and a 8 month contract and it killed me for ~2 years. I finally repaired my reputation by joining on a start up for ~ 14 months, they went under and I hopped onto a fortune 20.

Best of luck to the OP.

Agree with this.

Best bet is to apply for Help Desk positions and during the interviews surprise them with your expertise. In most cases, the company will either try you out in the help desk position and then promote you into a different tier, or just give it to you right off the bat. When I was a help desk lead, we would get sys admins and network engineers answering phones and shortly after I would recommend they be placed elsewhere that would better suport the company - in tier 2-3 (or however your hierarchy is established).

Cardboard

xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »

Maybe someone can chime in, but I would put your certs and skills towards the bottom and have your experience one of the first things that a hiring manager and HR would see.

NO WAY!!! My certs come right after my objective and before any of my IT job experience, I worked hard for them and want everyone to know!

xxxkaliboyxxx

Cardboard wrote: »

NO WAY!!! My certs come right after my objective and before any of my IT job experience, I worked hard for them and want everyone to know!

I don't know what you have, but looking at OP's resume, they aren't high level certs and he has valuable experience.

Now if you don't have any big projects or impressive experience, by all means show off those certs.

EANx

Cardboard wrote: »

NO WAY!!! My certs come right after my objective and before any of my IT job experience, I worked hard for them and want everyone to know!

When I see a resume with certs at the top, I assume they don't have equivalent-level experience and typically don't bother reading farther unless I have just a few responses.

volfkhat

EANx wrote: »

When I see a resume with certs at the top, I assume they don't have equivalent-level experience and typically don't bother reading farther unless I have just a few responses.

Snobbery!
:]

Resume-building is an Art... not a Science.
As long as the grammar is correct... it just comes down to personal preference.

My last 2-3 jobs have been about a year or less in duration.
If necessary, i will just lump them under a single employer; Volfkhat Consulting (or whatnot).
I can give myself a job title as "consultant", but will list all the job duties that i really did (at both jobs).

For any potential interview, i can say that i was self-employed.
When they ask where i worked at, i can tell them the "clients"; not the contract-house/pimp.
If they ask for references, i can give them contacts at the client (supervisor, or HR); again, NOT the contract-house.
You get the picture.

I guess the point of this post is:
If employers don't want to see a candidate with lots of job-hops.....
then Give them what they want to see :]

MAC_Addy

Are you willing to relocate? That's always a possibility you'll have to look into. Just so you know, you might not find something for a while. I was laid-off from my last company and couldn't find anything for nearly 4 months!! For the first 2 1/2 - 3 months I didn't even get a call back from anywhere that I applied. I know that may seem harsh, but be prepared.

Now, for the pep talk (sort of). Apply, apply, apply! Even if it's for something more Jr to what you were doing - apply for it! Sometimes it's better to just be somewhere than to not go to work. After looking at your resume, I would say that you should apply for network engineer jobs. Seems as though you have experience with ASA's. If you understand how to do ACL's, object groups and such, you'll be golden.